#AgriTech

More carbon-neutral with HVO from used cooking oil

Internal combustion engines are often at the heart of debates surrounding climate change and sustainability. “It’s not the engine that’s the problem, it’s the fossil diesel,” explains Patrick Ahlbrand, product strategist at CLAAS.

While the electric drive is now an established alternative to combustion engines for road transport, it is not feasible in the foreseeable future in energy-intensive agricultural sectors for one simple reason: a battery-powered forage harvester, for example, would be twice as big, twice as heavy and therefore cause much more damage to the soil. The reason behind this is purely down to physics: batteries have a much lower energy density than liquid fuels.

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Complete diesel substitute from leftover and waste materialsOne promising approach to the decarbonisation of agriculture is the use of sustainable liquid fuels such as HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil). HVO is an immediately available, low-investment option that can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from agriculture – without the need for any modifications, investments or new machinery.

HVO is produced through the chemical treatment of waste products such as plant residues or used cooking oil. Unlike traditional biodiesel made from rapeseed or other vegetable oils, this fuel does not compete with the production of food or animal fodder. This reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent. When the fuel is burned, it releases only the same amount of CO2 into the air that the plants previously extracted from the air as they grew.

Advantages for agricultural machineryCompared with the use of electric and hydrogen propulsion, HVO is straightforward and cost-efficient, especially for applications that demand high performance and long operating hours. Battery-driven vehicles are not currently suitable in this regard.

“Agriculture will continue to be dependent on large, powerful and efficient agricultural machinery with internal combustion engines in the future in view of the shortage of skilled labour and the need to increase productivity,” believes CLAAS expert Ahlbrand. Battery power is an alternative for small tractors up to 150 hp. “However, for medium- to high-power machinery, sustainable liquid fuels will remain essential,” says Ahlbrand.

In terms of overall economy, HVO already offers opportunities: if a medium-sized agricultural business switches completely from fossil diesel to HVO, no investment in infrastructure is required at all. They can simply continue to use their existing diesel pumps. However, if they want to use both fossil and sustainable fuel, they will need a second pump. “This may cost around €8,000, depending on the design, which is still manageable,” says Ahlbrand, compared to “the €40,000 that farmers plough into the installation of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles – and many times more for a hydrogen refuelling facility.”

HVO is still unknown“HVO is almost unknown to the general public because it cannot yet be sold at filling stations in Germany,” explains Patrick Ahlbrand. However, that is set to change following amendments to legislation that will allow HVO to be offered at German filling stations from 2024. “Once it's on the forecourts, public attention will be raised,” Ahlbrand is certain.

This still leaves the question of cost, which has a double impact on farmers: the price of HVO is linked to the price of diesel and is currently around 15 cents higher. “On top of that, farmers are currently subsidised to fill up with fossil diesel,” explains Patrick Ahlbrand – the agricultural diesel allowance means that businesses receive 21.48 cents back from the government for every litre of diesel – but only for fossil fuel, not HVO.

Sending the wrong political signal to the farming industryIt’s a political misconstruction, says the CLAAS strategist: “It would make sense to include HVO, a sustainable fuel, in the agricultural diesel subsidies,” says Ahlbrand. Why isn’t that the case? “Because up to now, politicians have favoured drive solutions that do not produce any local emissions. That does not apply to HVO. However, if you look at all the traffic on the roads, it does reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent,” says the expert.

The consequence of this is that farmers are faced with the question of whether they want to continue paying around 36 cents less per litre for diesel, or use the more sustainable fuel HVO, which is still awaiting political support. “Farmers are pretty good at maths,” says Ahlbrand in an appeal to policymakers.

Nevertheless, we are already starting to see success stories: winemakers, vegetable growers and dairy farmers who intentionally opt to use HVO as a more sustainable fuel will reduce their CO2 emissions and can therefore market their products as being more sustainable, too.

More sustainable from the moment they leave the factory with HVO
The commitment of CLAAS is already paying dividends for the environment: since October, all agricultural machines built to current emissions standards in the plants in Harsewinkel in Germany and Le Mans in France have been delivered with a tank of HVO. This more sustainable delivery standard is saving 2,500 tonnes of CO2 – and that’s every year. “Whether the farmer then fills up with HVO again, fossil diesel or a mixture of both doesn’t matter to the machine, it’s entirely up to the farmer,” says product strategist Patrick Ahlbrand.